A temple abbot caught in a locked hall at night with a woman follower explained to angry villagers he was not having sex with her - he merely hungered for jujubes and had asked her to bring him some of his favourite fruit.

The people of Ban Phai district were not convinced, and demanded he leave the temple.

On Friday more than 200 residents gathered in protest for the third time, stepping up the pressure on the abbot of Wat Sawangweha temple at Kudchuek village in tambon Ban Lan.